


Smiley Girl

by Kayterdid



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-04-18 04:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14204583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayterdid/pseuds/Kayterdid
Summary: Clara Lux Lucis Caelum, Noctis' older sister, was supposed to be the future Queen.  Clara struggles to come to terms with her role change.  She leans on her friends for support but finds herself having feelings for Noctis' future advisor.This is a couple of years old.  Trying to proofread and upload.  My writing style has changed a lot, but I do still think this is a cute story.





	1. Happy Thoughts

**Regis**

Regis imagined  _ her _ , beautiful Aulea, holding the baby. Surely that was more natural than some stranger nanny coddling their child. If he closed his eyes he could see it. He listened to the squeak of the rocking chair, to Noctis fussing, the feminine sound of shushing. It was really Aulea rocking their child. For a moment at least.

"Dad?" his eldest daughter spoke and his fantasy was gone. In Aulea's place was the nanny rocking his restless son to sleep. At Regis' feet was his sweet daughter, looking at him through her mother's blue eyes.

"Yes Dearheart?" he finally managed.

"I can't sleep." Clara whined.

"I can't sleep either." he admitted then pat his knee, "hop up Pup."

Regis helped his little girl up onto his lap. Her arms naturally fell around his neck and she placed her tiny head on his shoulder. Instinctively he rocked back and forth. He felt a brief temptation to close his eyes and retreat back to his fantasy world.  A world where Aulea lived.

_ No _ . His child needed him.

Clara hadn't cried when she was told of her mother's passing. He remembered her asking in her small little voice what had happened. He explained death as best he could to a 3 year old. Aulea would surely have known what to say if the roles were reversed.

And here he was holding her, still unable to effectively communicate.

"Claire if-" he faltered then cleared his throat, "if you need to talk to me -if you need to tell daddy how you're feeling, you can."

Clara sat still and silent. After a long pause, Regis wondered if she had heard him at all.

"No." she answered, "I'm sleepy."

Regis continued to prompt her over the months, but Clara never did talk to him about how she was feeling.

The year came with its ups and downs. Noctis growing, babbling, cooing, and sitting upright. Holidays were the hardest, naturally. Regis remembered how much he and Aulea had doted over Clara her first year. Taking pictures for every special event, no matter how small. With Noctis though, Regis felt like he was also documenting his first year without Aulea. Of course, he documented anyway.

Noctis' first birthday was particularly difficult. It should be so natural to celebrate a baby's first birthday, Regis thought. So, he did the one thing he thought would keep his mind off of the anniversary of Aulea's death: he threw a birthday party.

* * *

 

**Clara**

It's hard for little girls of merely four to concentrate on holding gifts when there are balloons everywhere. Big balloons too! Some of them were shaped like chocobos and some were even taller than the little princess! Clara decided that this was the most fun she'd ever had at the Citadel.

 

"Miss Clara, your gift!" Nanny Asha said, pointing to the little bag Clara accidentally dropped.

Clara gingerly picked it up and tucked it under her arm. Nanny winced seeing the squashed bag, but didn't pester her any further.  She was still a child after all.

"Is dad here?" Clara asked.

"Daddy? Yes. Come on, let's go find him." Nanny smiled and extended a hand to Clara.

They weaved through the crowd of people. All of them were people Clara had seen before from her dad's work. Except today they had children with them! Their own children, Clara had guessed. Maybe she could play with the balloons  _ and  _ the children. Maybe she could play with another little girl! She  _ never _ got to play with other girls.

Typically it was Gladiolus who would come to play with Clara. But she wasn't fond of his type of playing. He was always wanting to chase or pretend to sword fight. To be fair, Clara knew Gladio wasn't interested in what she liked to play either. Clara was more fond of slower games that didn't involve wrestling or getting dirty.

Sometimes, she tried to play with Noctis. Though that was even more complicated than playing with Gladiolus. He wasn't very old after all. One time she picked several flowers from the Citadel garden to prepare for a princess party with Noctis. She found one of her old dresses from when she was a baby and carefully colored his and her own little faces with makeup. While Noctis seemed to be having fun, her father wasn't as amused. Clara was desperate for a new playmate.

After dropping off her gift, they made their way to the entrance of the Citadel. Clara stood, nose pressed against the glass door, watching the commotion just outside. A large rope held back a massive crowd of people. Guests brought their children to filter in one at a time. Just beyond them were real chocobos!

"Is dad coming with us? Is he gonna let Noctis see the chocobos?" Clara asked her nanny, but someone else answered.

"They're going to stop letting kids from public go through long enough to let you and Prince Noctis see the chocobos." Cor lowered himself to address Clara, "You'll have to wait for the Crownsguard though."

"So you're comin' to see the chocobos too?" she laughed and reached her arms around Cor's neck to give him a hug.

"I-well." Cor stammered and gave Clara a stiff pat on the back, "Something like that, yes."

Nanny Asha drew Clara closer and said, "Come now. They're going to let us outside soon. Stay next to me, and when we see your father I'll hand you off to him. They're going to want to take pictures, so you'll stand and wave with your father for a bit. Then I'll come help you pet the chocobos." Clara Nodded.

When the doors finally opened, all of the people and all of the noise frightened Clara; she held onto her Nanny's hand more tightly and Nanny squeezed Clara's hand back. They walked down the steps of the Citadel as planned. Clara's stomach felt  _ squeezy _ when she looked at all of the people.

She met her father at the steps. He placed a hand on her back and seemed to try to speak to her, but Clara couldn't hear him.

Her father kneeled down next to her and lifted up her arm. She realized he must have been trying to ask her to wave, so she complied. The crowd seemed to laugh in unison, but suddenly switched to an endearing 'awww'. Clara looked over to see her brother pouting. He hid his head in their father's shoulder so that all she could see was his fuzzy black hair.

' _ Me too. _ ' she thought and wanted badly to comfort him.

The picture taking felt like it took forever, but finally Clara's father led her down the stairs toward the chocobos.

"Here we are Pup." her father crouched down to meet her at eye level. She planted a kiss on her father's cheek and turned to Noctis who had recovered from his crying spell and was now diligently gnawing on his digits.

Clara excitedly extended her fingers to pinch Noctis' chubby cheeks, only to find her thumb covered in drool.

"Eww! Baby slobber!" Clara shrieked but Noctis let out a big giggle, proud of his clever defense.

Her father laughed heartily then pulled out a handkerchief for his little girl to dry her hands and to wipe Noctis' face clean. Noctis wasn't nearly as amused by that. He shook his head defiantly then chastised his father in some unknown tongue.

"Are you excited to see the chocobos Clara?" her father asked.

"Yes! I've never seen a real chocobo before." Clara answered and twisted her body causing her dress to sway around her shins.

Clara was so busy talking to her father that she hadn't noticed the effect her movement had on Noctis. He was transfixed by the long black hair swishing around Clara's face. The curiosity was maddening and Noctis found his drool coated fingers intertwined in tendrils of hair.

"No Noctis!" their father chided.

Unfortunately Noctis took this as his cue to pull.

"It hurts Noct!" Clara pleaded with her brother. It may as well have been baby code for 'hair tastes pretty good', because the balled up fist of hair went straight toward Noctis' mouth.

Clara thought all hope for her hair was lost, when miraculously she was rescued by a moogle.

"Boop!" Mr. Scientia exclaimed after pressing the stuffed moogle toy to Noctis' nose and swiftly pulling it away. At first Noctis didn't seem to know what to do. But when the moogle came to his face a second time he grinned, released his grip on Clara, and reached for the moogle doll.

Mr. Scientia peeled the hairs away from Noctis' sticky, wet fingers then motioned toward Noctis, "May I?"

"Please!" her father laughed and handed Noctis over, "You saved the day Aduro."

Clara tended to her hair and looked up at her savior as he played with Noctis.

"Ah! Pestering your sister already eh? Better live it up while you're cute and she's still forgiving." Mr. Scientia addressed Noctis who laughed in agreement.

Clara hadn't even noticed another child around with all of the commotion Noctis had caused. But now she was excited to see someone close to her age. He wasn't a girl. But at least he didn't seem as wild and excitable as Gladiolus. Though she worried looks might be deceiving.

"Hello!" Clara blurted out.

The little boy faced her, bowed, and addressed her formally, "Princess."

"Oh yeah." she said as though she'd forgotten, "But, um, you can call me Clara!"

Clara thrust out her hand. The little boy looked up at Mr. Scientia then back at Clara.

"I'm Ignis." he said and timidly extended a hand to shake Clara's. When Clara let go, his hand quickly retreated back to the bridge of his glasses.

"Can Ignis come with  _ us _ to see the chocobos dad?" Clara pleaded.

"Only if he wants to Pup. And  _ only _ if it's okay with his uncle. Why don't you ask them?"

"Well?" was all Clara could get out, filled to the brim with excitement at the prospect of a new friend.

"It's alright Ignis." Mr Scientia nodded.

"Um, okay." Ignis agreed.

Clara clapped her hands enthusiastically and giggled. Ignis laughed too, and Clara was worried she'd done something wrong.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing! You're just-" Ignis paused, then smiled, "You're just a very  _ smiley _ girl is all."

Clara couldn't help but smile again.

* * *

 

**Regis**

Things certainly hadn't turned out how Regis had imagined. The chocobos were irritated by the noisy horde of people and bucked away from their trainers. Regis felt a pang of guilt for putting the animals in such an unfamiliar environment and was sure they were just frightened.  _ No more chocobos for birthday parties, _ he thought to himself. Just one more parenting mistake to learn from.

He felt even worse that he'd perhaps traumatized his poor daughter. Clara was mortified of the chocobos and hid behind Asha for most of the tour. Her nanny had tried her best to encourage Clara to pet one, but Clara firmly declined. Luckily, Aduro's little nephew convinced her to look at the baby chocobos. But that was the extent of it. She watched, while he pet the baby birds and no amount of reassurance from Ignis got her near them.

At least Noctis had been amused by it all. Regis didn't let him touch the chocobos, though he could tell his son desperately wanted to. He figured that would go about as well as the great hair pulling incident.

But Noctis' favorite part of the party, by far, was getting to eat his birthday cake. As per tradition, the birthday baby got his own small cake to eat. The bakers had shaped it into a yellow, fluffy baby chocobo with a blue bow on it's head. Though, once Noctis got his hands on it, the cake was reduced to a green smear across the table of his high chair.

As much as Regis had wanted to make his son's first birthday a big celebration, he was delighted to finally be away from masses of people huddling outside. He allowed himself to relax around his friends and attendants.

He was glad to see Clara's anxiety fade away too. Asha settled Clara and Ignis onto the dining table to eat their cupcakes and when Clarus arrived, she sat Gladiolus beside of them.

"For my favorite god-daughter!" Clarus held out a closed fist and Clara eagerly put out her hands.

He dropped the few coins and she giggled in delight, "Thank you uncle Clarus!"

"If I'd known you'd spoil her rotten, I wouldn't have named her after you." Regis joked then hugged his friend.

"I spoil indiscriminately." Clarus corrected and planted a kiss on Noctis' icing covered head. Noctis offered a fistful of cake as thanks, but his uncle declined.

Asha shook her head, "Do you want me to clean him up your Majesty?"

"No thank you Asha, I'll take care of him."

Regis removed the table from Noctis' high chair and began wiping down his arms and face.

"Shall we open presents next?" Regis whispered and his son cooed in response. He kissed his baby's sugary cheeks.

* * *

 

**Clara**

"Gladiolus Amicitia! How many cupcakes have you eaten?" Clarus scolded.

Gladiolus gave himself away by offering a cheeky grin that exposed a missing front tooth.

"Not  _ that _ many." Gladio shrugged.

Clara had counted 5, but she wasn't about to say anything to get her friend in trouble, no matter how different their playing styles were.

"Get cleaned up, Noctis is about to open his gifts." Clarus told them. Then he ushered Clara, Gladiolus, and Ignis to sit around baby Noctis who'd been placed back in his freshly cleaned high-chair.

"Your Majesty," Nanny spoke "you may want to give Noctis the kids' gifts first and let them go play. There are quite a few gifts."

Clara's father eyeballed the gifts, "Good idea. And I think  _ big man _ will need to run off some of that energy soon." He said, then ruffled a laughing Gladio's hair.

Clara couldn't stand it anymore, so she begged, "Mine first pleeeease!"

"Alright Noctis, Clara got you two gifts." their nanny grabbed a box that had been neatly wrapped and the crumpled bag that Clara had prepared all by herself.

Dad helped her brother open up the first gift. It was a navy blue quilt with cartoon chocobos stitched on its white quilt squares. Though Clara was second guessing her choice now that she'd actually met a chocobo.

For the second gift Clara opened the bag for Noctis.

"It's a happy thoughts bag!" she explained and uncle Clarus chuckled at that.

She pulled out each item and explained. A picture of a chocobo, back when she thought chocobos were fun. Three tulips from the garden. She could hear her nanny sigh and remembered she wasn't supposed to pick those flowers so she quickly moved on.

"Three ribbons. Black, blue, and pink. I think black is dad's favorite color. He wears it a lot. Mom told me blue is her favorite, and pink is mine. I don't know what your favorite is yet." Clara explained.

Noctis grabbed the ribbons, stared at them in fascination, then promptly taste tested.

Clara pulled out the last item. She unfolded a picture.

"This is a picture of all four of us. You and me and dad and mom." Clara said, showing the picture to Noctis, but making sure he didn't grab it.

"Can I see?" Gladio asked.

Clara presented the prized possession, but didn't allow Gladiolus to touch it.

"Where's Noctis?" he asked.

"In mom's belly!" she explained bringing the picture back to look at it.

"How did he get in  _ there _ ?!" Gladiolus asked dumbfounded.

Ignis opened his mouth to say something, but his uncle shushed him which caused most of the grown-ups to burst into laughter. Ignis just shrugged.

Denied answers from Ignis, Clara looked to her father for clarification, but noticed he wasn't laughing like most of the grown-ups. He was staring at the picture. Clara put her head down. She'd done something  _ wrong _ .

Clara's cheeks began to burn and her stomach got squeezy again. But then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay Pup." her dad said pulling her into a hug, "Your mother is a  _ very _ happy thought."

Clara kissed her father's cheek and agreed, "I think so too."


	2. An Advisor

An Advisor

**Clara**

Over the next couple of years, Clara grew even closer to her friends.

Gladiolus would often come to visit with his father and play during meetings. They even ate dinner together most nights. Gladio learned to play more gently with Clara, but even still suggested that she play swords with him. He'd tell her that she needed to learn to fight since she would be queen one day. Clara reminded him that she could worry about that when she was a grown-up.

Though he was rarely at Clara's home, it was Ignis that she saw more often, as they went to the same school for gifted children. There were only thirteen students in her class and she'd quickly become great friends with all of them. 'A social butterfly', Mr. Erudit bragged, saying that Clara was a natural leader and that he looked forward to seeing her grow into her role as future queen. Mr. Erudit would also speak to her father about Ignis, which Clara thought was rather strange.

As Noctis grew, he became a more enjoyable playmate. More often than not, their nanny would find them sneaking off to play in the gardens together. Noctis shared Clara's love of flowers, and she would bring literature on the flora of Eos to read to him as they explored the buds that had been imported from all over the world.

But Clara's favorite times were when all four of them could play together.

It was a balmy spring afternoon and Clara thanked all six of the gods that she had the whole weekend to worry about homework. That could wait. Ignis and Gladiolus were both over to play!

Clara helped Noctis take off his sneakers and socks.

"Hurry up!" Gladio called, already wading in the shallow creek.

Clara folded Noct's little pants upward.

"I  _ am _ hurrying!" Clara replied then kicked off her own shoes.

She noticed Ignis hadn't moved yet, so she urged, "Come on, it's fun! We're looking for cool rocks."

Ignis grinned, "If you insist."

"Of  _ course _ I insist!" she laughed.

Clara helped her little brother into the creek. She delighted in the feeling of the cold water that flowed around her ankles. It was a nice reprieve from the sweltering heat of the sun.

As soon as Noctis adjusted his gait to keep balance in the brook, he crouched down and started digging for rocks. Though she was sure he was fine, Clara stayed close to her brother just in case.

Meanwhile, Gladiolus and Ignis busied themselves with skipping rocks along the calmest part of the water.

"Let's see whose rock can go furthest! Game on?" Gladio elbowed Ignis.

Ignis narrowed his eyes, "Alright, game on." he accepted.

They both agreed to allow each other time to find the best rock for the job. After some time, the boys met back to begin their game.

Clara found it all a little more than amusing. She didn't want to involve herself in the competition, though she found herself eager to see the outcome. Noctis, however, couldn't care less. He was busying himself with finding worms and other creepy crawlies that called the brook their home.

"Ladies first!" Gladiolus chuckled then gestured to Ignis.

Ignis ignored Gladio's wisecrack and studied the flat stone in his hand. He turned sideways and adjusted his feet, then practiced throwing at just the right angle.

"Hey! Throw it already!" Gladio insisted.

With the flick of his wrist, the rock launched forward, skipping on the water: one, two, three, FOUR, FIVE times!

Ignis quietly smiled and pumped his fist, but Clara and even Gladiolus cheered in excitement for how far the little rock had gone.

"Damn Iggy!" Gladio exclaimed.

"Language!" Clara sassed, cupping her hands over Noctis' ears like human earmuffs.

"Alright, alright." Gladio said rolling his eyes, "My turn!"

Gladio stuck out his tongue. His sweaty, dirt-caked face concentrated hard on the water in front of him. He released the rock: one, two, three, FOUR…

"AWW MAN!" Gladiolus playfully kicked the water in defeat.

All three of them were laughing loudly now, but Noctis was about serious business with his creatures. He tapped on his sister's shoulder to show off his newest friend.

Clara turned around and Noctis' frog hopped right out of his hands and on to Clara's face! She screeched and squealed, then fell right onto her bottom into the shallow water.

Completely soaked, Clara's arms were still flailing about. "Is it in my hair?!" she screamed.

"What is it?!" Gladiolus ran over and Ignis followed suit.

"Hey! My froggy!" Noctis whined.

Sure enough, the froggy was trapped in Clara's long, black hair and flapping about even more than she was!

Ignis started untangling the frog right away.

"Hold still Claire, Iggy's got it!" Gladio reassured her. Clara did her best to take his advice.

Eventually, Ignis secured the frog and brought it back to the distraught young prince. Noctis thanked Ignis. Then, to Clara's dismay, Noct gave his new pet frog a sweet kiss.

"I see you're quite fond of your new friend," Ignis said, patting the prince’s back.

"Yeah! His name is-" Noct thought it over for a minute, "Hopper!"

"Yes, that does seem like an appropriate name" Ignis giggled.

Clara wrung out her dress and tied it into a knot at the side. After the frog incident, all four of them decided it was time to climb the hill and get out of the creek.

Noctis started to bring Hopper with him, but Ignis discouraged it, reminding Noct that it could hurt the frog to be away from its natural habitat. Noct sighed but agreed.

"Hey! Wanna race?!" Gladio suggested.

"Gladio no! I have a dress on." Clara pouted.

Ignis chimed in, "We could play hide and seek. Even Noctis can play that."

"Oooh! Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Noctis smiled, pumping a little fist whilst marching in place.

"Okay, but I want to seek first."  

Gladio started his count to 60 and the kids took off.

"Clara!" Noctis whispered, "Hide me under the pot!"

Noctis pointed to the huge flower pots beside of the bright new greenhouse. Clara agreed to help and Noctis ducked while she put the pot over him. He let her know he was okay and she was off to find her own hiding spot.

37

38

39

She was running out of time! Her head snapped to all potential places, but she could feel herself getting anxious and giggly. Finally, she spied Ignis hiding under some flower shelving. He motioned for her to hurry over. She ran as fast as her bare little feet could go.

Clara lowered herself to the ground and slid under the shelving beside of Ignis. She giggled at their hiding spot. Ignis lifted a finger to his mouth and she tried to stifle her laughter with grass stained hand.

58

59

60

"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!"

Around the time Gladiolus started searching the grounds for his friends, Regis, Clarus, and Aduro found their way to the gardens. His hunt certainly seemed entertaining to the grown-ups. Gladio looked behind trees, around flowers, and finally inside of the greenhouse.

Clara was equally entertained by Gladiolus’ grand search.  She tucked her bottom lip under her teeth to keep from laughing loudly.  She felt Ignis pat her back to try and calm her down, but it didn’t do much to relax her.

Stepping out, a stumped Gladio scratched his head trying to figure out where his friends had gotten off to.

"RAWR!" Noctis bellowed and hopped out at Gladio.

Gladiolus jumped as high as he was tall, whipped around, and fell right on his butt!

Clara couldn't handle it anymore. Laughter bubbled up from her chest and erupted out of her mouth. Gladio snapped his head in her direction.

" _ Clara _ ." Ignis teasingly chastised.

"Oops!" she said, continuing to giggle.

She wasn't the only one laughing though, the grown men were having a chuckle at poor Gladio's expense. They were quick to go check on him though and Gladiolus' frustration soon faded into laughter as well.

Clara and Ignis both crawled from underneath of the shelving. Ignis reached down to help Clara up then dusted off his pants.

"Clara Lux, you are filthy! Where are your shoes?" Regis scolded.

Clara looked down at her dress, knotted, soaked, and caked in brown mud. Her bare toes were muddy too. She tried to come up with a quick defense, but instead just shrugged her shoulders.

Regis turned his attention from Clara and addressed Ignis.

Ignis nervously stood up straight, "Yes, your Majesty?"

"You seem to have become good friends with Clara."

Ignis looked over to Clara and agreed, "Yes, your Majesty."

"Gladiolus is good friends with her too, but he's also training to be her Shield in the future. Just like his father is  _ my _ shield."

"Yes, I've heard that, your Majesty." Ignis understood, but seemed confused as to why the King was addressing  _ him _ instead of Gladiolus.

"But Kings and Queens also need advisors. People who are quick to analyze a situation and offer good advice. It's a difficult job, but it's also an important one."

Ignis nodded.

"I've spoken to your uncle. We both agree that  _ you _ would be perfect for such a role when Clara becomes Queen. We want to know if you feel the same. It would be a large sacrifice. I would really like for you to consider it though."

Ignis' eyes widened, "Yes your Majesty, I understand."

"There's no need to tell me your answer today. Take some time to -"

"I don't need time your Majesty. I'll do it."

Clara smiled at her newly appointed advisor. Little did she know, he would be advising her little brother instead.


	3. Friends

**Gladiolus**

By the age of 9, Gladio had been training to be the 'Shield of the Queen' for more than half of his young life. He had a rigorous schedule that consisted of early morning exercises, hand to hand combat training and self-defense training with the 'Immortal' himself. All of this was added on top of his daily school work.

Cor's instruction was by far the most taxing. Most adults would eventually bend and allow for breaks if they noticed Gladio had been stretched beyond his ability. With Cor, however, expectations were exceedingly high. He was never impatient with Gladiolus, quite the opposite in fact. Cor would have Gladiolus work on maneuvers for hours until he'd perfected them, all while Cor remained observant and taciturn.

Clara was now under Cor's tutelage along with Gladiolus. Parrying was one of the most basic moves, one that Clara was failing to perform.

Gladio had never seen a girl stumble so many times in his life. At first, it was amusing. Then it was irritating. When even Cor's stoic demeanor appeared to unravel at the seams, it got scary. The 'Immortal' had excused himself and Gladiolus tried to quell Clara's nervous laughter.

"You're going to have to quit giggling. I think he's getting pretty mad now." Gladio cautioned.

Clara, still giggling, squeezed her hands together, "I can't. I'm  _ really _ nervous."

"You're not  _ acting _ nervous, Claire! He thinks you're not being serious."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I am serious, I'm just- I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Clara said, biting down on her lip.

_ Were those tears? _ Gladio had never in his whole life seen Clara so worked up.

"Look-uh," Gladio stammered, "don't cry. It's going to be okay."

He gave her a little hug with a pat on the back, feeling slightly awkward at actually seeing her in this rare state. She seemed vulnerable and he hated it for her.

Gladio advised her to take a deep breath and calm herself. Clara took the advice and closed her eyes, and when she opened them they were more focused, more determined.

Gladiolus put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Okay listen." Gladio pointed to an empty chair across the room, "Your brother is sitting right there."

"But he's not."

" _ Pretend Clara. _ Your brother is sitting right there. The next time I come at you, you pretend that I'm coming after your brother next."

"That's kinda scary!"

"That's  _ kinda _ the point."

Cor came back to the room with a renewed patience and prompted them to begin the exercise again.

Clara stumbled again a few times, but with each try she seemed to be able to withstand Gladio's attack with an even greater resolve.

Gladio lifted his heavy wooden sword again and brought it down on Clara with very little force.

Pop!

Clara blocked the attack and pushed his sword back. The next thing he knew the wind was knocked right out of him by the whack of Clara's wooden sword into his gut.

"Oh gods! I'm sorry!"

Gladio grabbed at his stinging skin and shooed Clara away when she tried to check on him.

The silent Cor finally spoke, "Much better, Princess. Though we don't help our assailants up after successfully deflecting an attack."

* * *

 

**Ignis**

With his uncle working late during weekdays, Ignis occupied himself with his studies in the Citadel's library. By the age of eight, he and Clara were both already writing reports you would expect to be assigned to high school students. Their school's curriculum was demanding but certainly provided the best education money could buy.

Ignis typed away, focusing steadily on his assignments. From time to time adults, usually women, would come to him and playfully ask what he was doing. No doubt they were shocked to see an eight-year-old child working on a laptop. While Ignis was a bit irritated with the interruptions, he realized they were probably just feeling maternal.

' _ Just doing homework.' _ he would answer with a smile.

This paid off too because sometimes the ladies would bring sweet treats for him. He blushed and accepted the baked goods graciously.

Gladiolus and Clara would meet with him after their self-defense training. Their families seemed to work later and later, so the trio made it a point to keep each other company. Sometimes they would just talk about their day. Other times they would sit quietly, exhausted from their workload.

One afternoon his friends came in looking particularly exhausted, and he could tell it was going to be a quiet sort of day. They sat down at the table, more like fell down in Gladio's case, and greeted Ignis with silent nods.

Clara was quick to begin the exact same assignment Ignis was working on. Gladiolus, however, learned to occupy himself with books around the library while his friends studied.

For a couple of hours they sat working patiently in total silence. From time to time Clara asked Ignis to help her with the assignment, but once she understood, they fell back into comfortable quiet.

Ignis felt lucky that one of the ladies who worked at the library had given him cookies that day. Gladiolus ate half of them absentmindedly all while engrossed in his novel. Ignis felt his stomach rumble and reached for a delicious confection. Though the cookie was nothing short of amazing, it did nothing to sate his hunger.

Slightly irritated Ignis sighed, "That's it!"

Gladiolus' head shot up, "What's up Iggy?"

Ignis snapped his laptop shut, "I'm quite hungry. Shall we find something of substance to eat?"

Gladiolus lazily grinned at the idea, "That sounds like a plan. I'm hungry too."

"You're always hungry Gladio." Clara reminded him with a wry grin.

"Hey! I'm a growing boy." he smiled.

The three made their way to the Citadel's kitchen. It was huge. Ignis was hopeful to find something in there. He couldn't seem to get his mind off eating.

Ignis opened one of the refrigerators eyeing all manner of fruits, vegetables, and meats.

"Any leftovers?" Clara asked and popped her head into the fridge.

"Not that I see." he replied but still looked around, "Is there bread here?"

"I'm sure there is somewhere." Clara searched through the cabinets and finally pulled out a plastic wrapped loaf of sliced bread.

After acquiring all of the ingredients, Ignis and his friends started assembling sandwiches. Then they packed their food into a plastic bag, along with a few bottles of water and baby carrots. Finally, Clara led them to her bedroom so they could eat without being disturbed.

When Ignis first stepped foot in Clara's bedroom, the first thing he noticed was how extraordinarily large and pink it was it was. There were moogles and other stuffies strewn about her bed. She had a collection of bows and ribbons stuffed into a basket where a dress was also haphazardly dangling. Pink pillows covered a couple of couches arranged next to a huge window that offered an amazing view of the lit up city.

Clara motioned to the coffee table nestled between two fluffy white couches, "We can eat here. Hand me the paper plates."

Ignis handed them over and sat beside of Gladiolus who was moving a rosy pink pillow out of his way.

Ignis started, "Well Clara, your room is certainly-"

"Girly?" Gladiolus finished.

"I was going to say spacious," Ignis said grabbing a sandwich out of the bag.

"Well  _ I _ like it." she said taking a bite, "And that's all that matters."

Gladiolus grabbed the bag of baby carrots and tore them open, "Any idea what's going on? Why our dads need to stay in meetings so late?"

Clara shook her head then looked at Ignis, "Do you know?"

Ignis replied, "I can't say that I do."

"What? You've not heard anything from those meetings you have to go to?" Gladiolus asked.

Ignis rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses, "I have trouble seeing not hearing, Gladio. I promise I'd tell you if I knew."

Clara moaned, "Eww, I  _ dread _ the day I have to go along to one of those."

Ignis swallowed his food, "It's not as insipid as you might think. The adults were a tad  _ patronizing _ at first. But then-"

Gladiolus snorted, "Then they heard you use words like  _ insipid _ ."

"Indeed."

Clara laughed, covering her mouth.

"No! Not more of that." Gladio groaned, "She almost got us in big trouble today."

" _ Oh? _ " Ignis asked, interest piqued, "How's that?"

"I can't help it! I laugh when I'm scared. And I didn't want to disappoint Cor." Clara explained, still giggling.

"Yeah, yeah, cause that makes sense. You laugh when you're sad too?" Gladiolus teased.

"No, of course not!"

"You're just smiley is all." Ignis chuckled.

"Kinda hard to keep smiling with all the homework we have due tomorrow." Clara groaned.

Ignis gulped his half-chewed bite of sandwich hard and anxiously searched around his feet.

"What's wrong Iggy?" Gladio asked with a mouthful of carrots.

"My school bag. I must have left it in the kitchen." Ignis said and he felt heat rising to his face, his heart beat heavily in his chest.

Clara stood up and looked around, "It's okay. I'm sure it'll still be there."

But Ignis was already heading out the door, "I'll be back." he called over his shoulder.

Ignis didn't run, but he sure walked as quickly as he could back to the Citadel kitchens. He opened the door, turned a corner, and saw his little bag sitting upright near the refrigerator.

He let out a sigh of relief and was glad to be reunited with his belongings. Free to focus on the rest of the world now that he'd found his bag, he saw a darkly dressed man hovering over a counter.

The man turned and was revealed to be none other than the King. Ignis noticed the King's eyes looked tired, puffy, and red. His sullen face was a stark contrast to his daughter's joyful features.

"My apologies, your Majesty," Ignis said with a bow.

The king reached for Ignis' satchel and handed it to him, "No apologies needed, Ignis."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

Ignis stood tall and nervously waited to be dismissed. The King fiddled with his styrofoam cup of coffee inspecting Ignis.

"You want some?" the King mumbled into his upturned cup.

"I'm sorry?"

"Coffee," he said then poured a little bit from the pot into a fresh cup.

Ignis reached out for the coffee and hesitantly put it to his lips. The hot, bitter liquid touched his tongue and his nose crinkled immediately.

The King chuckled, "Not a fan, huh?"

"Not really," he said looking down at the dark liquid.

"I guess we don't really drink it for the flavor." the King said and relieved Ignis of his cup.

They stood in silence for a moment until the King spoke again.

"How are you handling meetings with the council, Ignis? Have they been accommodating?" the King paused, "Helped you understand your role?"

"They have, your Majesty."

"Good." the King nodded, "You and Gladiolus have important roles to play."

"I intend to help Clara the best I can, your Majesty."

" _ Clara? _ Oh, yes." the King hesitated.

Ignis waited patiently.  _ Was something wrong? What was happening? _

The King finally spoke again, "Ignis. You will need to become more closely acquainted with Noctis."

"Of course, your Majesty," Ignis said, though in his head he wondered why.

"A King should be close to his advisor." the King stated and the truth hit Ignis like a ton of bricks. Heart pounding and eyes wide open, Ignis had to force his mouth shut.

"I see." was all Ignis could muster.

The King's face dropped and Ignis could tell he was holding back tears. Ignis wanted to leave, but he couldn't. He desperately wished the King would let him go and take back everything he'd just said.  _ How could this be happening? _

He thought of Smiley Clara who's afraid of disappointing Cor Leonis. His heart hurt.

"I know you're young. But you're also quite bright." the King began, "For now, speak of this to no one."

Ignis nodded, "Of course, your Majesty."

He complied but secretly he wished things could go back to the way they were ten minutes ago. Though, from that day on, nothing would be the same again.


	4. Magnus

**Clara**

Reflecting back, Clara knew she should have seen the signs that were right in front of her.

First, she and Noctis were placed in public school.

Noctis was just starting school, Clara, however, had known her friends from private school for years. Clara begged her father to reconsider. Unfortunately, her protests carried little weight and her father explained that he wanted her to have a 'normal and humble childhood'. For Clara, private schooling  _ was _ normal. She would miss her teachers and classmates. She'd especially miss Ignis, who had been one of her oldest and closest friends.

That was the next big hit, however. Ignis had been asked to spend time with Noctis and his nanny while not in school or in council meetings. He also had to take extra courses that would prepare him for his future job. Clara felt sorry for her friend and his extra workload. She missed him terribly but understood that he was trying his best to become a great advisor.

Then Clara's father made her take extra classes as well. So, she began private instruction in communication and speech. This seemed normal. If she was to be queen, she'd need to be able to effectively communicate with the people of Insomnia.

However, when Gladiolus began training young Noctis instead of Clara, there was no denying that something was amiss.

Clara, being a smart girl, had an inkling that she was no longer being groomed to be queen. Her suspicions were confirmed one evening when the King met privately with his children.

It was decided. Noctis was the heir. Clara would be Noctis' acting ambassador.

None of this was to be public knowledge until they were fully grown. Meaning most of Insomnia would still be treating Clara like the future queen.

At that point, she didn't feel shocked by the news. She felt hurt.

_ Was she not smart enough? _ She'd not been the best student, that was Ignis. However, she hadn't been the worst either. Far from. She was often praised by her teachers and when she didn't understand something, she was quick to seek guidance and learn.

_ Was she not strong enough? _ Clara knew in her heart that this must have been the reason. She wasn't great at wielding weapons and  _ never _ particularly enjoyed it either. Cor Leonis had obvious trouble tolerating her and it grieved little Clara.

After the  _ family meeting _ , her father asked her how she was feeling. This was not something she wished to disclose, so she simply told him that she understood. And she did. She wasn't up to snuff.

For the first time in her life, she felt a bitterness toward Noctis. He'd been the reason their mother died, he was taking her best friends, all that she'd worked for was getting passed to him, and now their father rarely interacted with her.

Then she felt tremendous guilt for thinking such horrible thoughts. She loved Noct. It was far from  _ his _ fault. It was her own.

Clara knew it was selfish to brood, but she missed her old friends. So her depression set in quietly and sweet smiles left everyone around her blissfully unaware.

Well almost everyone.

**Jessica**

Jessica Magnus found the princess to be an absolute enigma.

A few years ago, when Clara had first come to school, she talked to absolutely everyone and anyone.

To be frank, this annoyed Jessica. Was she jealous? Absolutely! Clara was stealing her spot as class socialite and quickly. How could she not? She was the freakin' princess! Everyone liked her. She was pretty, smart, and  _ super _ friendly.

More recently, however, Clara sat by herself most days and absolutely refused to eat during lunch. Even when Clara did socialize, it seemed like her conversations were only half hearted. This annoyed Jessica even more.  You don’t get to have everything you could ever want in life and be a crab about it!

Today, Jess decided, was the day to confront Princess Moody.

It was a simple plan really.  Clara went to the restroom every day after second period and would always be late for third. She never got in trouble for it because the teacher was an idiot. He was way too afraid to get after the King's kid and would simply look the other way.  This was the perfect time to speak with Miss Priss Princess. If Jessica came late into third period with Princess Moody, Mr. What's-his-name wouldn't dare get after her.

So Jess watched from afar as Clara made her way to the restroom.  She waited a minute then entered going straight for the mirror. Jessica found a brush in her purse, pulled out stray tangled hairs, and began brushing her platinum mane.  She stood quietly, waiting for the rest of the giggling girls to filter out. It took  _ forever _ !

Finally, when she was alone with Clara, she tiptoed over to the only closed stall. Before she could bang on the door to scare the prissy princess, she heard faint sniffling.

_ Damnit. _ Jessica instantly felt guilty. So instead of confronting her, she knocked quietly on the stall door.

"Clara?" Jess started, "You-uh-you okay?"

There was a pause, then Jess finally heard Clara say in a cheery voice, "Oh I'm okay! I'll be out in a bit."

_ Oh hell no.   _ Her face hardened as she heard the words.  There was nothing in this world Jessica Magnus hated more than being lied to.

"Oh, okay." Jessica said walking to the restroom exit, "I'll see you in third!"

Jessica opened the door and, remaining in the restroom, allowed it to close right back in front of her. She waited to see if Clara had fallen for her trick. Wouldn't you know it, the princess was back to crying.

With an overload of irritation and curiosity, Jessica couldn't help what she did next….which was hop over the wall and into Clara's stall.

The shocked princess hopped back from her royal seat and fearfully tried to grab onto something to stabilize herself. Jessica saw a variety of emotions fall on Clara's face all at once: fear, relief, and then anger.

"What in the  _ world _ are you doing? I could have been  _ using _ -” she huffed, “-this  _ is  _ a restroom you know!" Clara chastised.

"You royals pee from your eyes?" Jessica quipped.

Clara crossed her arms.  "Why would  _ you _ care?"

"Alright sassy ass! Just seems like you need someone to talk to. Or why else would you be in here crying?"

Clara dropped her head and picked at one of her fingers.

"I don't like when people see me cry." Clara ducked her head lower, "It makes me feel - weird."

"Well," Jessica said absentmindedly putting her hands on her hips, "why are you crying in the first place?"

The two girls sat in silence for the longest time, but Jessica wasn't about to budge.

Clara sighed and for the first time poured her guts out.

"These stupid school lessons are so boring. I have nothing to occupy my mind. I go home and sit in my room alone. My self defense instructor  _ hates _ me. I don't have any real friends. I mean, I  _ used to _ ." Tears began to stream down Clara's face, "I never see my dad. I don't even remember the last time he spoke to me. I want to spend time with my brother, but I feel  _ confused _ around him. I love him. But I'm so-I'm just so  _ jealous _ ."

At this point, Clara had fallen back down onto the toilet seat and was shaking all over.

"They all would have been better off if I hadn't even been born," Clara confessed, and Jessica was speechless.

She had suspected Clara was upset over a boy or something, she was  _ not _ expecting that. Suddenly she felt very silly for judging Clara so harshly.

Jessica dropped her arms and grasped onto Clara's shoulders. Uncharacteristically, she began to gently rub on the princess's arms hoping it would help calm Clara down. It stayed like that for a long time before Jessica broke the silence.

"Hey, I know how you feel," she said.

Clara's breathing evened out, she wiped the snot and tears away from her face, "You do?" she asked looking hopeful.

"Oh yeah. There are a lot of people who don't talk to me." Jessica nodded, "Apparently people think I'm  _ a  _ little  _ aggressive _ . I guess it's 'off-putting'." Jessica winked and gave Clara a pat.

" _ A little? _ " Clara asked with a giggle.

"Well, it  _ does  _ get results doesn't it?" Jess grinned

Clara laughed again, "I guess so."

Jessica helped Clara up off of the toilet seat and handed her a tissue to let her dab her eyes.

"You know what makes me happy no matter what?" Jessica gasped with an excited smile.

"What's that?" Clara asked.

"Three things: Trashy celebrity Magazines,"

"Of  _ course _ ." Clara nodded.

"Binge watching episodes of 'The Astral Between'"

"Never seen it."

"And makeup."

"Not allowed to wear makeup."

Jessica gasped, "Child! You are so sheltered. You're just so lucky I've staged this intervention. How have you survived up until now having  _ not seen _ 'The Astral Between'?"

"When I wake up in the morning, it's the first thing I ask myself." Clara giggled.

"Well, your dad won't have to know you're trying on makeup if you're trying it on at my place." Jessica smiled.

Clara beamed, "That sounds fun."

Jessica finally unlocked the stall door and they made their way out. The girls were twenty minutes late and the teacher demanded to know where Jessica had been.

"Well, while you've been watching an 'educational' movie, I've been doing some educating myself. Clara hasn't seen 'The Astral Between'. It really is a shame I have to do your job for you!" Jessica sassed and Clara stared at her wide eyed.

_ What was he going to do, get after her? _

"Get yourself to the front office. Right. This. Second," he bellowed.

_ Well. Crap. _


	5. Abactius

**Clara**

Jessica turned out to be a phenomenal friend to Clara. They spent hours and hours together and she would often check up on Clara to see how she was feeling. If Clara was feeling down, Jessica brought her all sorts of distractions. They'd stay up late binge watching television shows, playing with each other's hair, and chatting until Nanny Asha made them go to bed.

Even though Clara had many 'friends' at school, Jessica proved herself a  _ true  _ friend.

The great thing about a true friend is that they are honest, no matter how jarring that honesty can be.

Initially, Clara was irritated when Jessica gave her opinion on her relationship with Noctis. She was sure Jessica would never understand how hurt she felt. Jessica insisted: Clara needed to start spending time with her brother again.

And so she did.

At first, it was awkward. Clara wasn't entirely sure Noctis wanted her around. She pushed on anyway, trying her best to take interest in the things he enjoyed.

She tried playing video games with him, emphasis on tried. Even though Clara hated dirt and worms, she attempted fishing with Noctis. That ended in disaster when Clara caught a log and snapped her pole. Noct laughed uncontrollably and, even though she was embarrassed, Clara did too.

They finally began warming up to each other again. Noctis even began to confide in his sister that he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of being king. He agreed with Clara that their father had been distant. He took it as their father simply not caring, and Clara tried her best convince him that it wasn't true. Though truth be told, she was starting to wonder herself.

To cheer up her brother, she decided to plan a family trip.

**Asha**

Asha's mother was calling again and she had to reject. She hated doing it, knowing her mother couldn't really help calling over and over. She'd simply forgotten that they'd _ just  _ talked. It wasn't the worst part of caring for a mother with dementia, but it certainly hindered her job watching over the prince and princess.

She loved her job. It enabled her, a single woman, to afford a comfortable lifestyle. It also ensured that her mother was cared for even when Asha wasn't available.

The main reason she loved her job though was that she had grown very fond of her charges, especially young Noctis.

Asha tucked her phone back into her purse and continued watching the younglings who were enthralled by the horde of butterflies circling the butterfly bushes. Wide eyed Noctis made Asha's heart nearly melt.

Coming to the botanical garden turned out to be a great idea. It was just newly erected near the border of Insomnia and Clara all but begged her father to let them come see it.

Of course, the owners were thrilled to have them over. There was no greater advertising than a royal visit. They shut down the garden to the rest of the public for the day so the prince and princess could freely roam the site.

Clara intended for the King to come as well, but he couldn't make it. It was becoming clear to Asha, that his presence was the main reason Clara planned the trip to begin with. Asha couldn't help but feel sorry for the princess who tried so hard to get her family together.

It was nearing evening, and the owners of the garden took the kids out see the man-made wetland. Fireflies illuminated the little patch of land. The sight was breathtaking. Of course, the little ones were captivated by the glowing bugs. Noctis cupped his hands, catching a few and watching them glow before letting them fly off.

The sounds of crickets and frogs nearly kept Asha from hearing her phone vibrate yet again. Since the kids were distracted, she decided she'd answer this time.

"Hello," Asha answered.

"Hello." she heard her mom mumble.

"Are you doing okay?" Asha asked, twisting herself around toward the building for privacy.

"Yeah." her mother paused, "Where are you at?"

"I'm taking care of the prince and princess remember?"

"Okay."

Asha sighed disheartened, "Have you been given your medicine yet?"

"Hey, Asha."

"Yes, mom?"

"Where are you at?"

Asha tried to compose herself, "Mom, I'm at work. I'll be back real soon. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Love you mama," she said gently into the phone and hung up.

She needed to get home, it was getting late anyway. The kids needed to get to bed. So she let them say goodbye to the gardeners and ushered them into the car.

They were, of course, going to be followed by an entourage. But Asha was surprised to see the Regalia among the vehicles parked outside.

When the King stepped out of the car, Asha instinctively bowed and was shocked to see his own children doing the same.

"Sorry I'm late." the King said and knelt down to see his kids.

Clara spoke, "Well, we're leaving now." Asha could clearly hear the sadness in her voice.

King Regis' face dropped at the sight of his disappointed children. "Perhaps we can stop for ice cream on the way back. Would you like that?"

The kids kept their eyes to the ground so Asha spoke up, "I think that's a lovely idea. What's your favorite ice cream Noctis?" she asked with a fake enthusiasm.

"Vanilla."

"Hmm, have you tried it with toppings?" Asha continued, "I bet that would be delicious!"

"I guess so."

She tried, and the King seemed grateful, but the children were unenthused and unconvinced.

Asha stepped into the back of the vehicle with the children and felt her phone vibrating again. She rejected the call and went back to trying to cheer up the children but they stayed quiet for most of the trip.

In an attempt to perk the kids up, Asha asked, "So what was your favorite part of the garden?"

Noctis replied, "The fireflies were so pretty. Shoulda brought a bottle…"

"Your father will be happy to hear about your day Prince Noctis." Asha replied.

Noct put his little head down and sighed, "He doesn't care."

_ Way to go, Asha. _ She thought to herself.

Asha began to speak again when the car came to a screeching halt.

She could hear a roaring boom then flames engulfed the car in front of them. Her heart started pounding and the kids grasped onto her even more tightly.

Clara gasped and clung to her brother.

"Protect the prince!" the driver shouted to her but was cut off by a flurry of swords battering the front of the car. The harsh sound of metal crushing metal made her stomach lurch. But the sight of the driver was even more bone-chilling.

"Clara, the door!" Asha screamed at her.

Clara threw the car door open. The three of them scattered.

Asha kept her hand tight around Noctis' arm, dragging him forward with her. She'd never felt such crippling fear in her life. Her body trembled. But the kids. She had to save the kids.

" _ Clara! _ " Noctis screamed.

She turned for just a moment to see the princess being taken away, hands tight around her mouth to muffle Clara's screams. That moment was just enough time for the daemon to advance.

Asha pushed Noctis in front of her. She readied her body to sprint. But then, instead of rushing forward, her body seared with pain.

Noctis' scream was as loud as the screeching of metal from earlier.

Her body hit the ground.

Blood.

Pain.

Darkness.

The last thing Asha felt was her mother calling one last time.


	6. Contrectus

**Clara**

Ten days.  Ten days away from her family.  Ten days away from the safety of Insomnia, of the Citadel.

She'd been chased by a daemon, kidnapped, then drug through a sewage system and out of Insomnia, and yet she was way more terrified of the man staring at her.

He wasn't ugly like the kidnappers you see in movies. In fact, he was clean shaven and mannerly. His golden coif was perfectly maintained. He always had a smile on his face. A candied smile hiding sinister intentions.

When Ace guarded Clara's cell, she didn't take her eyes off of him.

There were two others. One was a boy named Loqi, he was around 13 maybe 14. The other was Loqi's father, Vet Tummelt.

Vet was old, mean, and he cussed a lot. Beyond that though his sole objective seemed to be getting Clara to his superiors. This clued Clara that she wasn't in immediate danger, but she knew she was far from safe.

Loqi was only a few years older than Clara and she could tell he was incredibly uncomfortable with the whole situation. She was ready to use that to her advantage just as soon as it was his turn to guard her.

She was somewhere in Leide. At least she assumed so anyway, there was sand all over the floor. Clara felt if she could convince Loqi to let her go, she might be able to make it back to the city or at least to a road where someone could help her.

From what Clara could see, she was in some sort of military compound. There were frightening, mechanical looking soldiers stationed everywhere. She couldn't get out without Loqi.

But she wasn't with Loqi right now. She was with Ace. 

"Something the matter  _ sweetheart _ ?" he asked asked.

Clara made it a point to never answer when Ace spoke. She shivered at his voice and kept her eyes to the ground. Clara stayed perfectly still until she heard the squeak of her cell door opening. Her head snapped up and she saw him motioning for her to come to him. "Come on." he said.

Of course she didn't.

Ace feigned a pout, "Aren't you lonely, sweety? I'm lonely."

And again, Clara stayed closed off to him, eyes focusing on anything else.

He stepped forward into her space. She hunkered lower and her arms coiled themselves in, covering her chest. She was a rabbit cornered by a salivating fox. The terror she felt now was causing her to visibly shake.

"It's alright." he whispered and rubbed down her arms and back then finally put a hand on her thigh.

By now she was full on hyperventilating. She reeled backward, but he pressed on.

"What are you doing?" Loqi yelled and all at once Ace backed away. She thanked the heavens for Loqi.

He didn't even try to explain, he just stepped out and closed the cell door. Clara didn't care, as long as he was far away from her.

Ace finally left and Loqi brought Clara food and water, but she didn't care about food. She needed to get out. She needed Loqi to help her get out.

**Cor**

Cor tracked the princess to a compound in Northern Leide, West of Hammerhead.

In Cor's mind, the kidnapping may as well have been an act of war. The media was buzzing from tightened border control and not a minute went by without 'full coverage' of the stolen princess.

Initially, Regis wanted to send the entire Kingsglaive to procure the princess. Thankfully, Cor convinced Regis to allow him to go alone. He knew it would be safer for Clara. A multitude of glaive members would be less stealthy. If the Empire was tipped off, they could carry Clara off to gods only know where.

Cor was in the compound now. Watching. Waiting for the right moment.

When he saw the blond man hovering over Clara, he nearly abandoned all plans of stealth and gripped the hilt of his sword, preparing to chop his head off.

The voice of a much younger man stopped him. With the princess away from immediate danger, Cor relaxed a bit and continued waiting for the right time to commence with extraction.

The princess' voice tapered, "Loqi, please. You have to help me."

"I can't." the young man, Loqi presumably, said and handed the princess a glass of water.

Clara refused. "No." she said, "He's going to hurt me! Please! You have to get me away from here."

_ Smart. _

"I-I won't let him hurt you." Loqi continued.

As the boy stammered, Cor measured him up. He was weak, much too afraid to go through with Clara's scheme. That was good though, because it meant he would be terrified of an adult with a sword.

Cor emerged from hiding and found his way behind Loqi. He grabbed the kid by the shoulder and pressed a knife firmly against his throat.

"Make a sound, and it will be the last time you can ever make sounds." Cor cautioned.

Loqi nodded in understanding.

"Now," Cor's gravely voice got dangerously low, "get the keys and open the cell."

He followed Loqi as he opened the cell door and the princess hurried out.

Cor whipped Loqi around, pulling the boy face to face with him, "Get in."

Loqi looked as though he was about to protest, but then hunkered into the cell, humiliated.

"You remember what I said about noise making?" Cor threatened.

Loqi glared, "Yes."

"That wasn't a noise was it?" Cor asked lifting up his blade.

Loqi was wide eyed and shook his head quickly.

Cor scoffed, "Good."

Cor grabbed Clara by the arm and snuck her out the same way he'd snuck in.

Loqi never did make a sound.

**Clara**

After escaping and finding a haven to camp, Clara  _ had _ hoped she'd finally be able to sleep. Unfortunately, her tutor had other plans. He had her practicing drills over, and over, and over.

Exhausted, Clara couldn't take anymore.

"I'm done." she stated flatly. She would have never dreamed of doing something so brash at the Citadel. But she was drained and becoming more and more irritated by the second.

Cor stood silently watching her sulk. Clara almost wished he would yell, but she knew better. He was never one to lose his temper.

He sat down by the fire and across from her. They sat in silence for the longest time.

Cor finally spoke, "Your training is meant to keep you from these sorts of situations."

Clara glowered, "Are you blaming me for being kidnapped?"

"Of course not, Princess. Only suggesting you should be ready for anything."

Clara shook her head defiantly, "How can you be ready for something like that? I was worried about the daemon when they grabbed me." her voice faltered a bit, "I couldn't sleep. I was afraid to sleep. And _he_ had his hands all over me and I-"

Clara was shaking again just thinking about it. Cor waited for her to finish.

"I don't understand how there can be people like that." she finished.

Cor lowered his gaze.

"Again, Princess, this is why you train. That man could have really hurt you. You should be prepared to defend yourself." he was speaking more urgently now, "What if no one else had been around? Would have you just stood there?"

Clara gave a pained look, "You wouldn't understand." She hugged herself.

"I understand that I have failed you as a teacher." he stated, "But from now on, you'll be training a lot harder than you were before."

"Look, I know you don't like me." she saw him sit up straight but she kept on, "But I just can't train anymore tonight. I'm tired." she said walking past him and into the tent. She was thankful that he didn't join her.

**Cor**

Cor finally made it to Hammerhead with the Princess.

She was excited to be able to finally shower. Cindy, Cid's teenaged granddaughter, let Clara borrow some of her old clothes. A pair of overalls and a white shirt with green sleeves that came to her elbows. Cindy finished off the look by braiding Clara's hair into pig-tails. Even the hardened Marshal grinned at how sweet she looked.

He gave the King a call to let him know of their whereabouts. He, of course, wanted to talk to his daughter so he gave the phone to Clara and gave her some privacy. No doubt, he would be updating her on Noctis' condition.

Cor made his way over to Cid and Cindy. They were both inspecting his car and Cid was taking extra time to point out engine parts to his granddaughter. A 'fancy Crown City car' she called it. Cor didn't really care what they called it, as long as they didn't pull it apart in their excitement.

Clara handed Cor his phone back and started to shuffle back toward the caravan.

"Wait a minute Clara." Cor called out.

Clara spun around looking surprised, but waited for him to speak.

Cor cleared his throat, "Would you like to get something to eat?"

She looked to the side, thinking for a moment, then nodded her head.

So they stepped into Takka's and took a seat at a booth. Clara avoided eye contact and kicked her borrowed sneakers together until she got her hands on a menu.

"See anything you like?" Cor asked.

Clara chewed her lip then replied, "Maybe fries."

"Have you tried Jetty's soda?"

Clara furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"Maybe you'd prefer Ebony?"

She scrunched her nose and shook her head again.

"I hear it's quite a brew-tiful drink." Cor said flatly.

Clara shot him a questioning look, "Did you just make a joke?"

Cor grinned only slightly, then slowly a wide smile spread across Clara's face.

"Just so you know," Cor said unrolling his silverware from the rolled up napkin, "I don't just joke with anyone. Least of all, people I don't like. How lucky, that you aren't one of those."


	7. Birthday Wishes

Jessica

For once, Jessica was excited to see her friend on TV.

A few years back, Clara's kidnapping had set Insomnia in a spin and kept reporters buzzing. Jessica hated it, but she couldn't stop watching with the hopes that her friend would be found.

When Clara did make it back to Insomnia, Jess was at her side almost immediately. Clara was quiet back then. She didn't know exactly how to comfort her, but somehow knew words wouldn't cut it. But in time, Clara came back to herself, and Jessica stayed with her through it all.

The odd pair were thick as thieves. Jessica spent most nights at the Citadel and would even accompany Clara to some of her private courses. Her favorite was training with Cor. Watching the ever perfect princess actually fail at something was hilarious. The fact that Cor would sometimes treat them to fries and soda after, was a definite bonus.

Jess hated going with Clara to talk to the media, but sometimes she would. Every news channel and radio station wanted to interview the princess after the kidnapping. At first, Clara was nervous to speak to them.

Eventually, speaking to the crowds and reporters became second nature to Clara. The public came to adore the princess. Adults loved that she seemed wholesome and sweet, and their kids loved that she was relatable. The way she dressed, what she ate, the music she listened to; the news reported it, and the people ate it up.

Which is why, on Clara's fourteenth birthday, she was being interviewed by Insomnia's most popular morning talk show: Mindy in the Morning.

Jessica, pyjama clad, sat in front of her tv eating dry cereal and waiting for her friend to appear.

When Clara did show up on the screen, she looked like she was ready to accept the crown at a beauty pageant. Conservative A-line skirt, perfectly manicured fingers, sweetly curled black hair, and a winning smile; Clara was the definition of perky and posh.

With a bounce in her step, Clara made her way to Mindy, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Good Morning Miss Clara and happy birthday!" Mindy greeted with a disgustingly cheerful voice.

"Thank you!" Clara mirrored back the cheerfulness, "I'm so happy to be here with you all!"

The crowd cheered and Jessica laughed, rolling her eyes at her friend.

Mindy smiled and clasped Clara's hand in her own, "We're certainly glad to have you here! Any big plans for your birthday?"

"Well Clarus Amicitia's son, Gladiolus, we were both born on the same day. Just, he's a year older." Clara replied, "So usually we all do something together."

Mindy nodded, "Anything exciting?"

"We're having dinner with close friends and family." Clara's shoulders rose up, embarrassed by her excitement, she added, "And cake!"

Jessica facepalmed, she's such a dweeb.

"Then you're not going to be disappointed by today's show!" Mindy exclaimed, then turned to the camera, "We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, we'll be taste testing, you guessed it, birthday cakes! Then we're looking at the hottest trends of the summer. All of this, right after these messages."

Clara

Clara didn't mind being interviewed, but it was always nice to be home where she could relax a bit.

Jess was with her, of course. They wanted to make the most of a rare day that Clara was dismissed from her usual responsibilities. The girls walked down the Citadel hall arm in arm, chatting and joking.

On the way to her room, the girls ran into Noctis and Ignis. Clara felt herself change posture and, without thinking, began playing with her hair. She looked over, careful to make sure Jessica hadn't noticed. That was the last thing she needed.

Clara only recently noticed her infatuation. Years had passed since she and Ignis were kids playing together.

She noticed the physical changes first. He towered over her now and his face was no longer chubby and childish, but angular and manly even.

She also noticed how much he seemed to care for her brother. Ignis was always looking after Noctis, from his eating habits to his school work. Clara couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to be the one getting all of Ignis' attention.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Ignis had caught the interest of another girl: Amber.

Clara remembered Amber from when she attended private school. She was a tall, red-haired girl who was wicked smart. She'd seen Amber overtly flirting with Ignis; flipping her hair, giggling, and touching. Amber had grown into a beautiful young woman, and, while she knew it was juvenile, Clara loathed her for it.

The princess, though she didn't ask for much, was typically given anything her heart desired. But it seemed even a princess couldn't demand another's affection. Any time Clara saw Ignis eyeing Amber, she would force herself to sipence. It was agony.

"Happy birthday, sis." her brother greeted, and she snapped back to reality.

"Happy birth-" Clara said, "Ugh, no! I mean - thank you!" She laughed at herself.

Jessica snickered, "You've done that all day!"

"Princess," Ignis said, bowing his head, "Jessica."

Clara's bubbly mood deflated a bit after hearing his formal greeting, but she smiled anyway and said hello.

"Where are you two going?" Clara asked.

Noctis groaned before answering, "Gotta train with Gladio. Was hoping he'd take his birthday off like you did."

"It's all for your benefit Noctis. If you'd listen t-" Ignis began.

"Yeah, yeah." Noct interrupted and Ignis sighed in response.

Clara tried to cheer him up, "At least you're pretty good at it, Noct. At this point I think Cor is just training me for his own amusement."

"I'm sure that's far from true." Ignis said politely.

Jessica's eyes widened, "Oh, it's true." she nodded her head, "She's terrible."

Clara burst into laughter, though the joke was at her expense.

"Still smiley, I see." Ignis grinned.

It was enough to make Clara's heart sing and shatter all at once. All she could manage was a smile, and took in the warm look her old friend was giving her.

Ignis shook his head, "Sorry to leave so hastily, but Noct really does need to get to Gladiolus. I suppose we'll see you both at dinner later this evening."

"Yeah." Clara nodded, "See ya later."

The two walked off, but Ignis stopped, "Oh yes," he turned back around, "happy birthday, Clara."

Pure and total agony.  
Clara

Dinner had been amazing, but it was nothing compared to dessert.

Clara put the cake in her mouth and closed her eyes. She savored the sweet chocolate, her absolute favorite.

"Mmm. This cake is so amazing." she gushed and didn't care that her dramatics earned a few chuckles from her guests.

"Geez, calm down." Noct said, rolling his eyes, "It's not that good."

Clara perked up, a mischievous grin gracing her face. "Is that so?" she asked, "Then I guess I can have yours!" She took her fork and stabbed it into Noctis' cake.

His eyes widened, "Hey! No!"

She pulled the fork away sans cake, but still victorious. “It is so that good!”

Noctis moved his plate further away from Clara, and teasingly stuck his tongue out at her.

Clara was glad to see her brother in a lighter mood. Most nights Noctis would quietly retreat to his room and sleep. His lively smiles and cheerfulness from their early childhood seemed a distant memory. Tonight seemed different, however.

Noctis had stayed near his sister for the duration of the meal, and wouldn't stop asking when it would be time to open gifts. She was smart enough to surmise that he was proud of his own present. So when it came time for Clara to open it, he was beaming, absolutely glowing. His smile widened as a large box was wheeled in. Clara thought it odd that the gift wasn't traditionally wrapped. Instead, a large blanket was draped over it.

She reached for the covering, but heard a small whine come from inside. She froze. Then snapped her head toward Noctis.

"No!" she gasped, her mouth hung open in an excited smile. "Is there a puppy in there?"

Noctis smiled.  Genuine tears of happiness were welling up, "Oh my gosh."

"You're such a nerd!" Jessica snorted.

Noctis, unable to bare much more pleaded, "Just open it Claire!"

She pulled the blanket away, and there stood a shaggy haired, golden puppy. Its paws scraped at the kennel's door, beckoning Clara to open it.

At this point, Clara, though ecstatic, was full on sobbing. Her dramatics sent Clarus into a fit of belly laughter. Her father simply smiled and rolled his eyes.

"You'd better be ready to take care of it, Claire." the King said.

Noctis helped her get the puppy out of the kennel. "It's a girl, by the way." Noctis smirked, and handed her over to Clara.

Clara held her carefully, petting on her blonde body.

"She's beautiful!" Clara hugged her brother with her free arm, "Thank you Noctis!"

Noctis was still grinning from ear to ear, "What are you going to call her?"

"She's golden like the sunshine." Clara gushed, "I'll call her Sunny."

Regis noticed the pup shivering, "She's scared Clara. Go put her in your room, and you can play with her after the guests are gone."

Clara nodded, holding her new pup close, she hurried to her room.  She tiptoed through the corridors nuzzling Sunny close to her cheeks.

Turning a corner, Clara was nearing her quarters, but paused for a moment.  That's when she heard it. The humming.

Regis

The King was glad to see his children in good spirits, it allowed him to unwind somewhat.

After his son's near death experience and daughter's abduction, his family deserved some peace. Even if that peace would not be long lasting.

The weight of his burden became heavier with each passing day, however. And even looking at his doomed child made breathing difficult.

The ring he wore had weakened his body to the point of premature aging. Clarus joked that they were both getting old, but he knew the price of being born a Caelum. A price that was much higher for his young son.

While the rest of his guests are watching Gladiolus open gifts, Regis' eyes stay focused on his son. Noctis, who had finally calmed down from the puppy excitement, was now slowly dozing off in his chair.

Why my children? Why not me?

The King lost track of time staring at his youngest child until someone made mention of his eldest.

"Where is Clara?" Gladiolus said.

Regis' heart began beating quickly. Clara! He hoisted himself up quickly, immediately feeling the same as he had three years ago. Had someone come for his children again?

"It's fine. She's went to her room." Clarus tried to calm his friend down, "Probably just playing with that puppy."

Regis shook his head, "I'll go get her."

The King walked the halls, trying to appear as calm as he could.

"Claire." He said, knocking on her bedroom door.

With no answer, he let himself in. Empty.

He turned down the hall toward his son's room.

"Clara?" he called out again, but there was still no sign of his daughter.

He listened closely and heard a familiar whine.

The golden haired puppy was hunkered over, whimpering. But no Clara.

Regis picked up the pup and was sprinting at this point. Hysterically shouting his daughter's name, he opened every door hoping to see her.

He could feel a deep pressure in his chest, and his throat tightened.

"CLARA!"

He rushed again to look the one place he hadn't. The Crystal.

Rushing, he burst the door open, and there was his raven haired daughter, staring at the glowing power source.

Relief washed over him, but it was soon replaced with anger, and his voice boomed, "What are you doing?!"

He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away. The King stood towering over his daughter, and she looked at him horror stricken.

"Dad?" she whimpered.

But he'd have none of it. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" he roared, "You could have put Insomnia in danger, yourself in danger. What are you doing in here?!"

"Daddy?" she cried out, tears streaming down her face.

He faltered a bit.

Regis gasped, his heart breaking. She knows. She knows.

The princess fell to the ground weeping.

"Noctis." she cried, "He's going to die?"

The King, held his teenaged daughter as if she was three again.

"Yes."


	8. Bad Flirtations

Jessica

When Jessica spent the night with Clara, which was most nights, she was used to waking up to an empty bed.

One Saturday morning, however, she found herself up unusually early. She looked over at Clara who was still dozing, a giant dog snuggled up next to her. She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep with no success. So, Jess decided to get ready for the day.

Jessica tried her best not to make noise, but once she was up Sunny got up too and followed her around. She put on her school clothes, straightened her hair, and applied her makeup. Sunny sniffed, licking her makeup containers.

"Shoo, Sunny!" Jessica waved.

Her interaction with the dog caused Clara to stir, and the princess rubbed her eyes looking around quickly.

"What time is it?" Clara asked.

"Relax, dude. You haven't missed breakfast." Jess said as she lined her eyelids, "I just woke up early. Guess I'll actually be eating with you this morning."

For the past couple of years Clara had been getting up early to help Ignis make sure her brother ate. She'd been spending a lot more time with Noctis, which Jessica didn't mind at all. She liked that Clara had a loving family. Sure they were busy, but they cared about each other.

Before Jessica could finish her elaborate makeup routine, Clara had already dressed and curled her hair.

"Come on, slow poke!" Clara chortled and smacked her friend on the bottom.

Jessica yelped and cursed at the princess.

Part of Clara's daily routine was getting up early to wake up her brother. Jessica had never seen it before, but that morning she got to witness her friend ruffling her brother's hair to coax him from his slumber. She thought it was cute when Clara hopped up and down on Noctis' bed singing 'good morning' to him over and over. Noctis didn't find it as amusing.

Jess and Clara helped the sleepy prince to the dining room. The cooks already had plates set out. Food was positioned in the middle of the table for the adolescents to serve themselves.

"I should start waking up with you all more often." Jessica said, eyeballing the delicious buffet.

"Morning!" Ignis greeted from the door.

That's when Jess saw it. Clara's form shooting straight up, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Jessica's jaw dropped. How had she not noticed before? Clara liked Ignis.

Clara looked over to see Jessica slack-jawed. Wide eyed, Clara shook her head.

"Good Morning!" Jessica greeted mischievously, "Isn't Clara looking radiant today?"

Ignis cleared his throat, "The princess is looking lovely as ever." he said with a bow.

Clara looked absolutely mortified, but Jess just gave her a pat on the back.

"Time to go." Clara said.

"But we just got here!." Jess said, but before she knew it she was being dragged back to the princess' room.

"I'm going to kill you!" Clara shouted once she was alone with her friend.

Jessica laughed incredulously, "I just can't believe it! How long have you liked him? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, please shut up!" Clara groaned.

"Okay, but look: You have to say something to him. He's not going to know you like him if you don't at least flirt with him a little. Don't just stand there." Jessica advised.

"I am flirting," Clara pouted, "sort of."

"Okay, Clara, you're sixteen. Learn to flirt better. You can't just stand there like a mannequin." Jessica said, "And besides, it's poor Ignis Scientia. The kid will never say anything to you! You'll both just be awkwardly staring at each other until you get old and die. You have to say something!"

"He likes Amber." Clara sighed, "And besides, if I say something, he might not ever speak to me again."

"Yeah, and he'd be an idiot." Jessica sighed, "I just don't understand. You head up every social and extracurricular event coming and going at school. How is it that you can't summon up the confidence to talk to that nerd?"

"Hey! He's not a nerd!"

Jessica shook her head, but then had a wonderful idea.

 

Clara

Clara bit at her nails, nerves absolutely shot. It was bad enough that she was being interviewed by news programs on a weekly basis. She'd been hauled out to late night shows to charm the pants off hosts and all of the rest of Insomnia. All while under the falsehood of being 'future queen'.

For the past couple of years she'd been hiding an even more upsetting secret. Her younger brother was to be a Chosen King. A doomed King.

Her father pleaded with her to keep the secret. She complied, but it ate at her every day. Clara didn't know how to cope, but found it helped to coddle her brother every chance she got. She loved him dearly. Her heart ached for him.

One of her more comfortable secrets was her infatuation with her former best friend, Ignis Scientia. She had control over that secret. With him unaware, she didn't have to worry about repelling him. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel awkward.

All of this was why she'd hidden the crush from Jessica in the first place. She knew Jess.

But Jessica knew now, and they were smack dab in the middle of the Kingsglaive's new recruit training room. 'Flirt training' Jessica called it. There were both young men and women in the room, with the majority being the former. None of them had a clue who Clara was since they weren't from Insomnia.

Clara felt like a fish surrounded by sharks. Young men were certainly giving her and Jessica attention, but never the kind of attention she'd endured before. Crude remarks were being spouted left and right.

"Well, do something. Wink, giggle, touch their arm. You've got their attention. We aren't leaving until you do." Jessica whispered.

"This was a horrible idea. I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Hey, what time is it?" Clara asked, "I have to be somewhere at 6."

"It's Saturday! Is it because Ignis is going to be somewhere at 6?" Jessica smirked.

"Shut-up."

Jessica took to flirting like a fish to water. She was brushing her hands against their chests and laughing at every little thing they said.

‘Okay Clara, just wink at a boy and we can leave.’

Clara turned around to see a young man leaned against the wall. He was certainly handsome enough, and he was staring right at her. So Clara threw on the biggest, fakest smile and bobbed her head with a wink.

"Does your father know what you're doing?" Cor Leonis asked, standing right behind her.

Her face turned ten shades of red and she started giggling uncontrollably.

Cor sighed, "Get out of here Clara. You'll be with me a half an hour extra on Monday."

"Yes, sir." Clara said hanging her head down.

He addressed the rest of the room, "And you boys can thank the princess of Insomnia for the extra training you'll receive today."

The room grumbled. Clara peeked over to the boy she was winking at. She was surprised to see a smirk on his face. And when he gave her a wink, she was back to giggling.

Nyx

The girl had looked so uncomfortable in the room, Nyx almost couldn't stand it. Her small form was being ogled by eyes all around. It was clear that her friend was there to flirt, but the little raven haired girl wanted nothing to do with it.  And all he could think of was his own little sister.

When she huffed at her friend and shot an insincere wink at him, Nyx couldn't contain a chuckle. Then the poor kid was chastised by the head of the Crownsguard.

As it turned out though, she was Clara Caelum.

Nyx and the newest Kingsglaive recruits were to become familiar with the Citadel then start immediately on intensive training. He thought he'd seen the last of the princess. Instead, her blonde haired friend was dragging her down the hallways in pursuit of new recruits. The princess seemed miserable, so when Nyx caught her eye he clicked his tongue and gave her an exaggerated wink.

The princess smiled big, winked back, and gave a thumbs up.

For the rest of the day, when the two saw each other they would wink. Each exchange became more elaborate and silly than the last.

Clara

6:00 It was time. Clara felt so embarrassed and ashamed, but she'd memorized any time she could see Ignis in the hallway.

‘I have a problem.’

"Hey!" Jessica shouted startling her, "You're such a stalker, you know that?"

Clara sighed, "I so am!" She walked down the hall slowly, so she wouldn't miss him.

A figure turned down the hall, and she felt giddy. She was prepared to greet Ignis with a simple hello.

Instead she saw the new recruit from the Kingsglaive she'd been winking at all day. By this point their interactions were beyond comical.

Clara promptly jumped up into the air and pointed both fingers at him, "HEY-OH!" she yelled and gave him a wink.

"Clara Caelum!" a voice bellowed behind her.

Clara jumped again and spun around. She was mortified to see her father walking with both Ignis and Noctis in tow. She was red again but the nervous laughter spilled out immediately.

The King sighed but smirked, "Quit flirting with my Kingsglaive."


	9. Dancing with Myself

Dancin' with Myself

Prompto

It took all the courage Prompto could summon to approach the two older guys waiting on Noct and his sister. He felt his stomach lurch and worried he might actually throw-up.

It would be much easier to turn around and leave, but he'd already initiated a friendship with Noctis. And besides, today was his idea. Prompto was the one to suggest they go to the beachside music festival.

Somehow, what was supposed to be just he and Noctis, turned into an entourage consisting of his bodyguards and sister.

Now, Prompto wasn't too worried about meeting Clara Caelum. Oh, he'd seen her at school. Of course he'd never spoken to her, but he'd seen her. She was peppy and popular, which was a tad intimidating. It was nothing compared to the guys waiting by the car.

Slowly Prompto approached them and they both turned their heads to look at him. To his surprise, the big one was the first to wave and offer a smile. The scary one with glasses just nodded his head.

"You must be Prompto." The big one said with a gravelly, deep voice, "Name's Gladiolus, or just Gladio's fine."

"Oh, uh, h-hey!" Prompto stuttered, "Glad to meet you."

Prompto nervously smiled at the guy with the glasses.

"Ignis." he said with another head nod.

Prompto gave him a thumbs up, then the three of them stood silently for a while. To say the moment was awkward was an understatement. He felt sweat beading at the nape of his neck and his body just wouldn't stop shaking. Thankfully a reprieve came in the shape of a giant golden dog.

Bounding toward Prompto was the most colossal yet jovial looking pup he'd ever seen. She circled around Prompto, sniffing and licking at his hands. When the pup finally stood on its hind legs, its front paws came all the way up to Prompto's shoulder. The dog was staring him right in the face!

"Careful, Sunny." Ignis said and pet the dog's head and lowered her down.

"Sunny, huh?" Prompto addressed the dog, "Good girl, Sunny!" He lowered himself to pet her, and Sunny promptly licked his face.

"Sunny!" he heard a cheerful voice call, and the dog sprinted toward it.

When he looked up he saw the royal children walking toward the car. Noctis was not dressed for the beach at all with his long jeans and quarter longth sleeves, but at least he wasn't wearing black. Clara, however, was wearing a black one-piece bathing suit, with a pair of jean shorts.

Prompto blushed. Pretty girls were always a weakness, but he definitely needed to keep his eye off of this particular girl. He didn't want anything to mess up his new friendship. But then, there she was, skipping right toward him with Sunny in tow.

"You must be Prompto!" Clara stated cheerfully and drew Prompto into a warm embrace.

It became incredibly difficult to focus on anything else besides the fact that a cute girl was pressed up against him. She smelled sweet and floral. Her porcelain skin was smooth and Prompto felt a lump in his throat all over again.

"Uh, y-yeah. That's me!" He tried to sound as bubbly as he could.

Clara smiled, "Noct has told me so much about you!"

"Clara." Noctis said with a blush forming across his face.

"Really?" Prompto couldn't help but be excited by the thought.

Sunny began circling Prompto again, licking and rolling around for him to pet her belly.

Clara giggled, "She likes you! Wanna help me take her back inside?"

"S-sure!"

Noctis sighed, "I'll just be waiting in the car."

Ignis

As they weaved through crowds on the busy boardwalk, Prompto made Clara into his own personal model. He was shooting pictures every few minutes. Sometimes Clara even indulged the boy and would pose for him.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Gladiolus grinned cheekily at Ignis.

"Nothing." An agitated looking Ignis simply sighed.

"Hey, now." Gladiolus said, "Just think of that kid as motivation. Where's the competitive Iggy I know?"

For the past couple of years Ignis had silently pined for Clara. How Gladiolus had come to discover his feelings was a mystery. Ignis made particularly sure that he did not behave differently around the princess. In fact, he made it a point to start addressing her more formally.

For months Gladio had tried to pressure Ignis into confessing his feelings. What good would that do? Clara seized up any time he was around. Ignis knew she must hate him after he'd all but abandoned her. Not that he could have controlled those circumstances, but still he felt guilty.

Ignis sighed. Now he was faced with a dilemma: Allow Prompto to continue flirting with Clara or try to get her attention himself.

He opened his mouth to speak to her but-

"Hey, there's a volleyball net. Let's play." Gladiolus suggested excitedly. "I brought a ball."

Noctis rolled his eyes, "Of course you did."

Gladiolus wrapped his arm around Noctis' neck and rubbed a fist into his black hair.

"Hey! Getoff!" Noctis yelped.

"Alright Noct! How about me and you against those three." Gladio said pointing at Ignis, Prompto, and Clara.

Prompto looked a tad anxious at the prospect of being separated from his friend. Ignis found that satisfying.

"We can be shirts and you can be skins." Gladiolus said with a smirk. Very subtle, Gladio.

"Hilarious." Clara said, "I'm fairly certain the net separates us anyway."

"And besides," Ignis added, "it's quite unlike you to pass up an opportunity to be shirtless."

Clara burst into laughter and Noctis followed suit.

"What's the matter Specs?" Gladio teased, "You hiding something under there?"

Ignis rolled his eyes.

"If it'll get you off my back dude." he heard Prompto say. He looked over and the younger boy was taking his shirt off.

Ignis looked toward Gladiolus who simply smirked and quirked a brow. He really didn't like this, but he also really wanted to impress Clara. Ignis sighed yet again, and took off his shirt.

Clara

Clara wasn't good at sports anyway, least of all volleyball. But now, she had to concentrate on a ball flying toward her all while trying to ignore a shirtless Ignis.

"Clara!" Prompto yelled.

Oh no! There it is! It's falling down. QUIT DUCKING! PUT YOUR HAND OUT!

Clara yelped, and pushed her hands upward toward the ball. The ball fell to the ground, parting her hands easily.

"Hey it's okay Clara!" Prompto said cheerfully and gave her a high five.

She groaned through a smile. "I'm sorry!" She put her head in her hands, embarrassed by her failure.

She felt an arm around her shoulder.

"There, there. No need to fret." Ignis said.

Any chance Clara had at actually doing well at the game, went right out the window.

They lost to Noctis and Gladio with an embarrassingly low score.

After several more games of volleyball, the five of them made their way to the outskirts of the crowd surrounding the stage. Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto tried their very best to keep Noctis and Clara out of sight.

At first it was easy since the crowd's' attention was on the bands. As time went on, however, people were beginning to stare. One of the onlookers was a tall, beautiful, redhaired girl. It was Amber.

"Hey!" Amber smiled with brilliant teeth.

"Hi, Amber." Clara forced a smile back, and since she's had years of training, it looked completely sincere.

"Are you all staying for the fireworks tonight?" she asked, and Clara could tell her question was directed toward Ignis.

Noctis, however, was the one to answer, "Hadn't really thought about it."

"I guess we could." Clara said.

Amber giggled, touching Ignis' forearm, "Will you dance with me?"

Clara's heart sank.

She saw Ignis freeze for a moment, "I'm afraid this isn't the sort of dancing I'm used to. I'm sure there are more suitable partners available." He smiled at her and gave her arm a pat.

"Oh." Amber said, looking deflated, "Well, will you dance with me?" Amber was now holding out her hand and smiling at Prompto.

"Uh-ye-yeah. Sure!" Prompto perked up.

The pair walked off toward the middle of the crowd.

"Why would you do that?" Noctis asked, looking at Ignis.

"Sorry?" Ignis asked.

"She's a pretty girl! Why on earth would you turn her down?" Noctis pressed.

"Hey." Gladio said, "Leave Iggy alone."

Ignis crossed his arms, looking into the crowd. His downcast face broke Clara's heart. The lump in her throat grew. She really didn't want to do this, but she also really wanted Ignis to be happy.

"I think she really likes you." Clara smiled, "So if you're interested in her, you should go for it."

"Oh. I see." Ignis said, "Perhaps I should."


End file.
